Caprese Salad - Photography on White

Cruising Twitter a few days ago, I stumbled across a tweet from Jungle Frog Cooking regarding a photography and styling challenge featuring white.  I love white.  As many of my backgrounds are white, and my dishes are mostly white, I thought immediately, "I'm in!"

Simplicity at its best, my lunch of a basic Caprese Salad had vivid colors of red and green popping off of my white palette in no time.  As with my other styling challenges though, my lack of detailed styling perhaps leaves a little to be desired.

Gazing in envy at Jungle Frog's white linen lined table artfully strewn with white props including flowers, vases and adorable little square dishes, I realized that while I do have white, I don't have that much white.

My white wooden board filled in for her linen, and a lone white petunia clipped from my garden added a nice floral addition.  Filling my favorite white Ramekin with the tomato concoction, and using a white dipping dish to cradle the mozzarella chunks that also flavored my colorful caprese salad, my lunch was served.  Enough white?  I think so.

As for the salad, brilliant, organic, red mini tomatoes, fresh from the farmer's market kept me living the summer that I'm fighting so hard not to let go of.  Basil from my garden flavored the tomato/mozzarella  combo, and the last of my beloved Greek Olive Oil, treasured from my summer vacation, dressed the farm fresh ingredients with flair.  Sprinkling the medley with a touch of salt and pepper brought the flavors to a peak, and indeed, my lunch of ultimate simplicity made its debut.

Whether you are hanging on tight to summer or transitioning to fall, these simple, fresh ingredients bring lunch to a new level.

Caprese Salad
Simple and fresh, these few ingredients come together singing summer's praises (or memories if you are embracing autumn.).  One of those, "toss what you have on hand into the bowl recipes", the salad is made to your specs and tastes.  Use the below measurements as a guide and add a splash here and there to create your own version.

1 pint baby heirloom or cherry tomatoes, halved
1-2 balls fresh Mozzarella di bufala, chopped into small pieces
1 Tbs or so sliced fresh basil
Splash olive oil
Splash balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste 

Place all ingredients (except salt and pepper) into a bowl and mix gently.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper to taste, then garnish with additional fresh basil.  Enjoy!